Straight Through My Heart
by natalietardis
Summary: Morgana finds herself torn. King Uthr is very interested. Arthur is irritated. And Merlin falls in love. But...why? Merlin/OC.  Takes place between Seasons 1 and 2!
1. Prologue

**Straight Through My Heart**

_{Author's Note : Bonjour again! So, 'case you all don't know already, I really do adore the show Merlin. It may just be the sweetest, funniest show ever made. Anyway, I decided to write this fanfic that may take a while as I'm finishing up my Wuthering Heights story (OOTSFCS; not the real name but an abbreviation), but that should be out of the way quickly. And again, please note that this takes place between Seasons 1 and 2. Enjoy!_

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><p><span>Prologue – The Stranger<span>

**I**t was a dark night – useful if one wanted to hide, or conceal themselves, or conduct a secret event. On this night, however, three people rode through a thick forest. One of this party was in the dress of a groom; the other was a maidservant; and the third was completely hooded in a cloak the colour of a lake at midnight. Their gender was as unclear as all that could be seen of their face was their mouth, currently drawn into a thin line of anxiety.

Suddenly, the cloaked figure pulled their black horse to a stop. The horse, who had been trained to stop as quietly as possible, did so. Their servants followed suit, and the cloaked person turned to the groom and murmured, "Are we close?"

"Yes, m'lady," the groom replied in a low voice. "We are very close now. It will not be long."

Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes. The groom's horse, a small brown mare, was spooked and reared, whinnying. Very loudly.

"Damn!" the young hooded lady muttered, while the groom attempted to steady his horse. Barely two heartbeats later, an arrow shot out of a bush a few feet away and hit the tree, directly above the young lady's head.

"God's _bones!"_ she swore loudly, more startled than frightened. At that moment, five soldiers leapt out of the brush, drew their swords and surrounded the small party.

One soldier stepped forward. "We are sorry if we frightened you, madam – "

"Sorry?" the maid burst out angrily. "You damn well better be! Bloody _'ell!_ You coulda killed her, you could, you idiots – "

"Nell," the young lady murmured.

"Yes – !"

"Shut up."

Awkwardly the soldier continued. "...but you have trespassed onto the boundaries of Camelot, castle of His Majesty King Uthr. We demand to know your identity."

"Tell your king," said the young lady icily, "I was sent by my mother, the Countess of Kent."

"What – Lady Kent?" The soldier looked confused. "Elle de Lodah, Lady Kent?"

"Yes," the daughter of the Countess of Kent answered.

The soldiers exchanged glances, clearly uncomfortable. Mistress de Lodah sighed exasperatedly and tossed her head. "Yes, yes, I know very well of my mother's history with King Uthr, but she greatly desired for me to be a lady-in-waiting to His Majesty. I could work with the other ladies. I could embroider, sing, study..." She raised her eyebrows and cocked her head at the soldier.

"Very well," he said. "We will escort you to Camelot. You" – he turned to another soldier – "run ahead and inform the king that the daughter of Elle, Countess of Kent, has arrived and has expressed a desire, through her mother, to be a lady-in-waiting to him." The soldier nodded and dashed off through the trees. The remaining four soldiers surrounded the little party in a box formation as they slowly began to make their way through the forest.

Mistress de Lodah turned around and smiled at Nell and her groom, then turned ahead to watch as they approached the city of Camelot.


	2. Friend, Enemy, Lady

_{Author's Note:} Hello all! Sorry about the delay in updating, I've been very busy for the past few weeks. I promise that I'll get at least Chapter 3 up by Saturday. Thank you for reading! –Natalie}_

"**A**nd how – in – God's – name – are we – to lift this?"

Arthur laughed softly. "Oh, Merlin. You should honestly spend more time with in the fields then you do in the library."

Merlin gritted his teeth and continued struggling to lift the sword. It was ridiculously heavy. "Someday, Arthur, when I'm – ergh – some grand – _ergh_ – scholar, you're going to wish you hadn't said tha – _ugggh!"_ By some miracle, he had managed to finally lift the sword.

"Good!" Arthur exclaimed, getting up from where he was sitting on the grass and watching. "Now we see how you handle two of those."

Merlin moaned.

"Kidding," Arthur snickered, brushing his dark blonde hair out of his brown eyes. "By the way, I doubt you'll make it as a scholar. You shall be my servant for life. Yes, Merlin – fear your future."

"Oh, Your Grace," Gwen chided from the sides where she too was watching. "You really don't want to kill Merlin. Go easy on him. I wouldn't want to witness the murder of a 'grand scholar.'"

Merlin couldn't help himself. He laughed.

"Oh, no," Arthur muttered suddenly, glancing at the hill that lead to the castle, behind Merlin. "Here comes our dear Morgana."

Merlin turned around – indeed, Morgana was running down the hill towards them at a surprising speed. She looked agitated, her dark hair streaming behind her.

"Wonder why she looks so cheerful," Merlin commented as Arthur came to stand next to him. Arthur grinned at that and called out to her once she was close enough, "Now, now, Morgana, no need to look so terribly jolly; it's distracting. We were just having a bit of fun."

Ignoring him, Morgana turned to Gwen. "Gwen. I need you. Now. Come with me." She grabbed Gwen's hand and ran – more slowly this time – back up the hill again, a very confused Gwen in tow.

"Morgana!" Arthur shouted after her. "What is this? What's happened?"

"She's come back," Morgana cried, turning around to face Arthur again. "Arthur, she's back."

"What? Who? Who's back?"

"Lady Annet of Kent," she shouted, her voice breaking slightly at the name. "The daughter of the Countess of Kent." And with that she quickly turned around again, sprinting back up the hill with Gwen.

_Annet of Kent? Who's that?_ Merlin wondered. He turned towards Arthur and was shocked to see Arthur's face slowly turn white, and his eyes widen with shock.

"Arthur?" he said hesitatingly. "Who's this Lady Annet?"

"She's...she's..." Arthur shook his head quickly, as if to clear it. "I'll explain later. Come. We must get to the Castle." He quickly rushed off up the hill towards the village and thus the Castle; Merlin, weighed down by the sword, lagged behind. "Oh, for God's sake, just drop it," Arthur shouted over his shoulder. Relieved, Merlin not-so-gracefully threw down the weapon and ran.

They went through the village on their way back, and Merlin could see why. Everyone was whispering about the same person – "Did you hear?" "Hear what?" "The Lady Annet's back." "What? Are you serious?" "Elle of Kent's daughter?" "Yes, of course, what other Annets of Kent are there?" "After so many years she's returned." "To think her mother just sent her crawling back here, her birthplace, for a decent education..." "I've never liked that woman, Lady de Lodah. What should her little pup be like?" "Shush, don't speak of the lady that way..."

"This Annet was born here," Merlin murmured to Arthur, just to spite him, "to an Elle de Lodah, the Countess of Kent." Exasperated, Arthur turned to him. "Look, Merlin, you'll learn why she's so infamous in due time. But for now, just try to keep up. Hurry." Rolling his eyes, Merlin quickly passed through the gates of the castle with Arthur. In no time, they were at the entrance to the Great Hall.

Arthur stopped, and Merlin did as well. King Uther sat on his throne, silently regarding the young woman in the dark blue cloak in front of him, nodding as she spoke. Behind her stood two servants – a groom and a maid. Beside Uther stood Morgana. She had an odd look on her face as she stared at the mysterious Lady Annet; a mix of anger, apprehension and disgust. Uther also looked slightly angry and revolted, but above all this he also looked strangely – pleased. Impressed. Even affectionate.

But it was not this that made Merlin stare.

It was the Lady Annet de Lodah. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She was tall, stately, with golden-brown hair, like Arthur, but her eyes were a flashing grey, like the stormy sea. Every word seemed to illuminate her pale face; she motioned with her hands as she talked. She seemed to be maybe a year or two older then Merlin himself, and when she smiled...her pale, carefully sculpted face glowed.

It was then Merlin felt the strange feeling seeping through him – a thrill of emotion. An energy that seemed to light him inwardly on fire. And a contentment that had not been there before. He wanted to look away from this gorgeous regal young lady, but he couldn't. He wouldn't.

He felt someone's eyes on him, and Merlin looked up reluctantly to see Arthur staring at him quizzically. "What?" he whispered. His voice sounded strangely hoarse.

"Nothing," Arthur said, turning away.

"Ah, Arthur" – the cool voice of Uther floated towards them. Everyone in the room turned. "And Master Merlin too, how nice. Of course you know of the Lady Annet's arrival – you remember her, don't you Arthur?"

"How could I not?" Arthur replied, stepping forward, and bowing his head to kiss Annet's hand. He attempted to smile, although he rather looked like he had just eaten a lemon.

And Merlin was completely unprepared for the sudden sick sense of hatred that coursed through him the moment Arthur's lips touched Lady Annet's hand.

"And this is Merlin," Arthur said, gesturing towards him. "He is a – er – vassal here, studying with the court physician, and a good friend of mine."

"Merlin," said the Lady Annet, smiling at him. "How nice to meet you." Merlin felt his cheeks turn hot as she smiled at him, and bowed hastily. _I. Look. Like. A fool._ Although when he stood, he saw Annet's grey eyes pierce his, and the look in them was of a sort of interest. He forced himself to hold her gaze until she at last looked away, towards Uther.

"If Your Majesty sees fit," she began slowly, "my mother did desire for me to learn some physics and medicines..."

_Oh...no,_ Merlin thought.

"...And Merlin does seem able to teach me." She turned to him with an absolutely heart-wrenching smile that made Merlin want to fall on his knees in front of her and grant her everything.

"Of course," Uther answered, making Merlin feel both utterly relieved and achingly nervous. "I'm sure that Gaius and – ah – Master Merlin would love a student. Gwenivere will show you to your rooms. Your lessons will begin tomorrow afternoon."

Merlin saw Arthur shoot a significant look at Morgana, who looked desperately angry. He had no idea what they saw so horrific about Lady Annet. To him she was near to perfect – an angel. Beautiful, very beautiful, likely intelligent, kind enough to welcome him...He would never forget the way she smiled at him.

_Good God,_ Merlin realized. _I've fallen in love._


End file.
